I found this brief restatement of what I take to be Ayn Rand’s epistemological argument against God in my files. I had jotted it down years ago in college.
Existents have identity. E + I
Identity constitutes specific characteristics. I + S
Infinity denotes unspecifiable characteristics. N + ~S
If God is infinite, then God has no identity. G + N > G + ~I
God is infinite. G + N
Therefore, God has no identity. G + ~I
Something has identity or it does not exist. I v ~E
Therefore, God does not exist. G + ~E
Basically, in her view, God is an invalid concept. He is indefinable, described by what he is not, by way of analogy, unique and therefore not within the conceptual realm (a concept involves reference to two or more concretes in reality). Infinity in the metaphysical or ontological sense used above (as opposed to its epistemological meaning, say in mathematics) is another invalid concept, since something that is infinite would not be limited by anything, would have characteristics that are unspecified; it is everything and therefore nothing (or, the concept omits everything and is therefore nothing); it is not definable.
Geoffrey is an Aristotelian-Libertarian political philosopher, writer, editor, and web designer. He is the founder of the